


Small Mercy

by Tarlan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s02e03 Runner, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-02-19
Updated: 2009-02-19
Packaged: 2017-10-21 15:22:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/226677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carson sees to Rodney's injuries.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Small Mercy

**Author's Note:**

> For **LJ mcbeckchallenge** prompt #7 Runner

Carson could have left the job to one of his nurses but he was feeling a little guilty. It was so easy to smile at the state Rodney had gotten himself into on the planet but, in truth, being strung up by one leg in a _Wraith trap_ set by their newest guest, Ronon, must have been both scary and painful.

"He was going to kill me!" Rodney exclaimed once again, though Carson was uncertain whom Rodney was trying to convince.

With a gentle sigh, Carson allowed himself a gesture that would not be rebuffed as too personal in the very public confines of the infirmary and patted Rodney on the shoulder, letting his hand linger a moment longer than would be considered professional. He glanced up at the readings on the Ancient machine, pleased with the progress made in healing the damaged ligaments in such a short time. Without this machine, Rodney would have faced weeks of pain and physiotherapy.

"I'm sure Lieutenant Ford was just playing with you, Rodney. Trying to scare you." Carson smiled, trying to placate Rodney if only to erase the anxious look from Rodney's all-too expressive eyes but Ronon spoke up from the med-table opposite.

"He was going to kill him."

Carson froze and turned to the man he had operated on less than an hour earlier to remove the tracking device. "Lieutenant Ford would never---"

"Know what I saw," Ronon stated, and there was a hardness in the man's eyes that spoke of truth.

Carson glanced back at Rodney, seeing the round-eyed shock on his face as if even he had not truly believed until that moment that his former teammate might actually have pulled the trigger. Carson knew his own shock was just as great though for a different reason. He knew Rodney faced danger every time he stepped through the Stargate but knowing it had been so close, and at the hands of someone they had both genuinely liked, was terrifying. If the behemoth sitting behind him, shadowed by the Colonel's guards, had not tackled Ford then Rodney wouldn't be lying on this bed whining about his damaged knee; he would be dead. The thought of never touching Rodney's warm skin again, of never feeling his lover writhe beneath him as they sought that perfect moment of togetherness, sent icy chills through Carson.

The machine had completed its work and, carefully but firmly, Carson fitted a material support brace around Rodney's knee to aid the rest of the healing process, his fingers drifting over the exposed skin of Rodney's leg without conscious thought until Rodney grabbed at his hand and stilled it. Rodney pulled back after giving his hand a quick but gentle squeeze that no one should have noticed, but a glance in Ronon's direction showed that he had seen but was unconcerned, though perhaps slightly amused.

Ronon had been wearing that same amused, bemused look since meeting Rodney, which was a fresh change from the usual hostility Rodney induced from others. He helped Rodney to his feet, admonishing him to take it easy as Rodney hobbled away, with a seemingly casual backwards glance, to attend a second debriefing with Colonel Caldwell.

***

Much later, Carson slipped onto the bed behind Rodney and pulled Rodney back into his arms until Rodney was leaning against Carson's chest. He wrapped his arms around his lover, ignoring Rodney's token protest at being jostled further. With a murmured endearment, he rubbed his cheek against Rodney's soft hair before turning slightly to kiss the same spot, feeling the tickle of fine hair beneath his lips. Rodney carried on typing rapidly onto his laptop, huffing occasionally, sometimes wriggling but otherwise unconcerned by the living pillow supporting him. Another more determined kiss had the fingers hesitating above the keyboard momentarily before the typing resumed but, eventually, Rodney sighed in exasperation and put the laptop aside on the bedside table. He wriggled to get more comfortable, sending some seriously hot sensations racing through Carson as Rodney pushed back against Carson's groin.

Rodney hissed as movement aggravated his knee. "Ow! You know, I'm not going to be able to do much with this bad knee," he complained but Carson knew it really wasn't as bad as Rodney was making it out to be, that Rodney had been very lucky that he hadn't struck his head on the ground when the trap sprung, or that he hadn't damaged the leg beyond the capabilities of the Ancient healing machines. Traps like that could be lethal to a human who didn't have the fast healing abilities of the Wraith, stunning a man senseless and dislocating the knee and hip joints. Rodney had gotten away with torn ligaments that were easy to repair with the Ancient technology available in the Infirmary.

"Then I'll just have to give you a hand," Carson murmured softly as he opened Rodney's pants and wrapped his fingers around the already hard cock. The soft moan of pleasure reverberated through Carson as he stroked Rodney slow and deliberate, the slight twist on every upstroke echoed by the hitches in Rodney's breath until he felt his lover tense; the heat of his release coating Carson's fingers.

Already so close just from the feel of Rodney writhing against him, Carson shoved a hand between them to open his own pants and shoved up Rodney's shirt. It took just a few more tiny thrusts against Rodney's partially-clothed back before Carson was coming hard from the friction of material and sweaty skin against his sensitive cock. he came back down to Earth to the feel of Rodney squirming in his arms.

"Eww!"

Carson huffed out a laugh at Rodney's indignant cry, feeling too sated and boneless in the euphoria of release to feel any remorse. Rodney was trying to draw away from the mess but Carson pulled his back, wrapping his arms around the broad chest tightly. He sighed in pleasure when Rodney gave up finally and relaxed, accepting small kisses as his due as Carson nuzzled the flushed skin of throat, cheek and temple.

Eventually, Carson slipped out from behind Rodney and rinsed out a washcloth, gently cleaning them both before drawing Rodney back into his arms with plans to hold him through the remainder of the night.

As Rodney's breathing slowed into sleep, Carson looked back on the day and realized they had both faced danger, but they were here now. He kissed the back of Rodney's head and held him tighter. They were alive and relatively unharmed, and for that small mercy he would always be grateful.

END


End file.
